The Taliban Have a Road Map for Peace

Over the weekend, Taliban representatives sat down with Afghan officials and other observers in Doha, Qatar, to hold formal talks. In their discussions, they agreed that “inclusive negotiations” were necessary, that they would agree to ensure women’s rights, and that they would pursue the “unconditional release of elders, the disabled, and sick inmates.” A translation of their statement is below.

We, the participants of the conference, hereby appreciate, thank, and value the efforts of Qatar and the German government for organizing the Intra-Afghan Peace Conference held on July 7 and 8, 2019, in Doha, Qatar, and express our deepest gratitude accordingly.

We express our greatest gratitude for the United Nations, regional countries, particularly, and countries that have facilitated the negotiations for the United States and the Intra-Afghan Peace Conference and have taken necessary steps toward the conflict resolution. We are hoping that these parties will continue their support in a way that will benefit our country and the nation and result in a real and desirable peace.

From our point of view, dialogue and agreement assist us to reach an understanding concerning our present and future and be able to tackle the barriers and obstacles, as well as understand each other. Therefore, all participants insist and emphasize the continuation of the dialogue.

We, the participants of the Doha conference, hereby agree on the following points to reach a sustainable peace.

All participants have full consensus that achieving a sustainable, thorough, and dignified peace, which is the demand of the Afghan people, is only possible via inclusive negotiations.

Afghanistan is a united, Islamic country and home for all different ethnicities. All Afghans are committed to Islamic sovereignty, social and political justice, national unity, and territorial sovereignty.

Throughout history, particularly during the last 40 years, the Afghan people have defended their religions, country, and culture and sacrificed immensely for their independence. Afghanistan shall not be the witness of another war in the country, and an intra-Afghan agreement between different levels of society is vital and crucial. All international community, regional, and internal elements shall respect our values accordingly.

Since our nation is suffering daily due to an ongoing, prolonged war, it is therefore necessary that the following steps are taken so that we can have an effective intra-Afghan negotiation.

• The conflict parties shall avoid threats, revenges, and conflicting words, shall use soft terminologies and words during their official gatherings, and shall not fuel conflict and revenge.
• The Doha peace conference participants strongly support the current peace talks in Doha and believe that an effective and positive outcome from the negotiations will be fruitful for Afghanistan.

The following steps shall be taken to create an environment of trust for peace and in order to have our nation safe from the war and to have its consequences, violence, and devastation decreased. The conflict parties shall consider these measures:

• Unconditional release of elders, the disabled, and sick inmates.
• Ensuring the security of public institutions, such as schools, religious madrassas, hospitals, markets, water dams, and other working locations.
• In particular, respecting educational institutions, like schools, universities, and other educational institutions, as well as residential areas.
• Commitment to respect and protect the dignity of people, their life and property, to minimize the civilian casualties to zero.
• Assuring women’s rights in political, social, economic, educational, and cultural affairs as per within the Islamic framework of Islamic values.

The participants of the Doha conference agree on a road map for peace based on the following conditions:

• Institutionalizing an Islamic system in the country for the implementation of comprehensive peace.
• Start of the peace process simultaneously with the accomplishment of all terms and conditions set form.
• Monitoring and observation of the peace agreement.
• Reform in the preservation of fundamental institutions, defense, and other national entities that belong to all Afghans.
• Repartition of immigrants and return of internally displaced people.
• Support and assistance from donor countries post-peace agreement based on the new cooperation and relations.
• Insist during international conferences regarding the assurance of the Afghanistan peace agreement.
• Assurance of zero interference from neighboring and regional countries in Afghanistan.

We acknowledge and approve the recent resolution of the intra-Afghan conference held on Feb. 5 and 6, 2019, in Moscow, and we urge the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, U.N. Security Council, European Union, and our neighboring countries to support the peace conferences held in Moscow and Doha.

This translation was adapted from the Twitter feed of U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad.